FEDERAL COURT DISMISSES FONT COPYRIGHT CLAIM AGAINST ZAZZLE

Quinn Emanuel Secures Summary Judgment in Favor of Zazzle, Eliminating Core Copyright Allegation

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP has secured a significant legal victory on behalf of its client Zazzle Inc. in a closely watched copyright case brought by font designer Nicky Laatz. In an order dated August 4, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted Zazzle's motion for reconsideration and dismissed Laatz's federal copyright infringement claim – the centerpiece of her lawsuit over supposed unauthorized use of her "Blooming Elegant" font.

"This is an important win for Zazzle," said Rachel Herrick Kassabian, a partner in Quinn Emanuel's Silicon Valley office. "We're pleased that the Court applied the copyright statute faithfully and rejected an attempt to stretch it beyond its limits."

In the lawsuit filed in 2022, Laatz alleged that Zazzle exceeded a license for her "Blooming Elegant" font that Zazzle had purchased years ago, and on that basis asserted multiple claims including copyright infringement, trademark infringement, fraud and breach of contract.  In May 2025 the Court dismissed Laatz's fraud and trademark infringement claims, and also invalidated Laatz's "font data" copyright registrations, but had allowed her copyright claim to move forward based on the theory that the works might qualify as computer programs. Upon reconsideration, Judge Beth Labson Freeman held this week that because the Copyright Office had explicitly rejected Laatz's attempt to register her fonts as computer programs, she could not rely on that theory to pursue claims against Zazzle under U.S. copyright law.

Citing precedent from the Supreme Court and multiple circuit courts, Judge Freeman emphasized that a valid registration or a formal refusal by the Copyright Office is required before a copyright lawsuit may proceed. Because Laatz had neither, the Court dismissed her copyright infringement claim in its entirety.

With this ruling, only a single breach of contract claim remains in Laatz's case.

"We are gratified that the Court recognized the fundamental legal flaw in plaintiff's copyright infringement claims," said a Zazzle spokesperson. "From the beginning, we've maintained that this claim lacked merit, and we appreciate the Court's careful attention to the facts and the law. Zazzle is an ecosystem of creators, makers, and customers, and we will continue to defend our platform and our community against litigation that diverts resources from the people who bring that creativity to life. Zazzle remains deeply committed to supporting independent creators and respecting intellectual property."

The case is Laatz v. Zazzle, Inc., No. 5:22-cv-04844-BLF (N.D. Cal.). Zazzle is represented by Quinn Emanuel partners Rachel Herrick Kassabian, Andrew Shapiro and Dan Posner.

About Quinn Emanuel
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP is a 1000+ lawyer business litigation firm—the largest in the world devoted solely to business litigation and arbitration with 34 global office locations. Surveys of major companies around the world have named it the "most feared" law firm in the world three times. Firm lawyers have tried over 2,500 cases, winning 86% of them. When representing defendants, Quinn Emanuel's trial experience gets better settlements or defense verdicts. When representing plaintiffs, Quinn Emanuel lawyers have won nearly $80 billion in judgments and settlements. Quinn Emanuel has also obtained seven nine-figure jury verdicts, four 10-figure jury verdicts, 51 nine-figure settlements, and 20 10-figure settlements. 

Quinn Emanuel has been named the No. 1 "most feared" law firm by The BTI Consulting Group three times in its annual "Most Feared Law Firms in Litigation" guide, in which in-house counsel named 46 firms they "want to steer clear of" when it comes to litigation. The American Lawyer named Quinn Emanuel the top IP litigation firm in the U.S. and the firm as one of the top six commercial litigation firms in the country. The UK legal periodical, The Lawyer named us "International Firm of the Year." Law360 has most recently selected us as having Banking, Class Action, International Arbitration, and Trials "Practice Groups of the Year." Managing IP twice recognized us as having the "Best ITC Litigation Practice" and honored us with the "Patent Contentious West" award. Legal Business has named us "US Law Firm of the Year" three times, and our German offices have twice been named both "IP Litigation Firm of the Year" and "Patent Litigation Firm of the Year" by JUVE, Germany's most prestigious legal publication. Global Investigations Review, a leading legal periodical covering global white-collar investigations, named us the "Most Impressive Investigations Practice of the Year." Global Arbitration Review named us the 3rd best arbitration practice in the world. Global Competition Review named our antitrust and competition practice among the "25 Global Elite," and has included us in their list of the world's top 10 competition litigation practices. 

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SOURCE Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP